


Masked

by djsadbean



Series: Masked [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Altean Lance (Voltron), Galra Keith (Voltron)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-04-20
Packaged: 2019-04-04 07:44:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14015553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/djsadbean/pseuds/djsadbean
Summary: After sending Allura and Lotor into Oriande, the paladins are forced to wait and wait for their arrival back to the castle. Having to wait during these long harsh hours to pass gives some paladins some time for themselves. While getting ready to wash up after several hours of sitting around and sweating, Lance discovers something that changes everything about how he views himself, Altea, and maybe even Earth?





	1. Discovery

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Tis I, djsadbean! You might know me from Instagram or Tumblr (which I'll link to in case you just found this fic in the search results lol) I'm an artist and (apparently lol) a writer! I've been writing for a few years but this is the first fic I'm publishing for you guys to see along with making art for it :D If you wanna see the art here's the link! --> https://djsadbean.tumblr.com/post/171638961471/art-for-an-altean-lance-fic-im-writing-ive
> 
> If you wanna draw/cosplay/anything lol something from this fic tag it as #MaskedAlteanLance so I can see! Feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram or Tumblr to show me too bc I'd die of happiness XD

“When do you think they’ll come back?” Lance sat on the last step of the small stairs toward the front of the bridge. Sweat and dust already making his face feel gross. The power was off (minus a few basic functions for doors and such), there was no air coming in, no oxygen supply being replenished, and most importantly, no telling when the princess and Lotor would be back. Lance couldn’t deny that fact that he wouldn’t be totally upset if Allura came back without Lotor but he did hope over everything they were at least making discoveries. **  
**

“Lance, I swear if you ask us that one more time I’m locking you in with Kaltenecker…” Pidge’s voice was monotone, reflecting well how uncomfortable it is waiting in a giant ship with no power. She kicked her legs up against the wall and huffed. 

It was  _so_ uncomfortable.

“I’m just worried… Lotor isn’t exactly the first person I’d volunteer to go on a dangerous space mission with Allura. He’s so dumb with his dumb hair and weirdly extensive knowledge of Altean culture…” He pouted with his arms crossed.

It’d been at least 3 hours and the lack of moving air was getting to him. His hair stuck to his neck as his paladin armor began to feel more moist and gross by the minute. “I’ll be back, you guys.” Lance stretched his legs out and stood. “Don’t miss me too much~” He teased as the others groaned, half tired and half part of the playful banter.

The doors swished open and a small breeze blew through his hair. One small mercy he was thankful for. His steps echoed through the dark halls. He could hardly see anything and there wasn’t any power so he’d have to go based on the memory of the castle’s layout. He felt the doors and entryways until he felt a familiar door frame. Another swish and he stepped into his even darker room. He was so sweaty at that point and felt the makeup on his face begin to run. He only had foundation but with all this sweat it felt like so much more.

“Makeup wipes… Let’s start with that…” He mumbled to himself. It was even harder to navigate in his room than in the halls. He felt around with his hand and even ended up taking off his armor for both moving around easier and because it was just so hot and the black cloth was sticking to him like a wet bathing suit.

He felt around his small desk area until he felt a small box he knew were the wipes. “Gotcha!” He grinned and took it into his hand as he walked towards the bathroom, or where he guessed the bathroom was. He began wiping away the foundation on his forehead. Once that was cleared he began wiping at his cheek starting at the area close to his nose and worked outwards.

“The things I do for beauty…” He chuckled to himself. He finally reached his cheekbone and wiped away the makeup.

 

_Blue._

 

_**Glowing.** _

 

“W-What…?” He stuttered, putting a hand to his face. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, now being illuminated.

He had  _Altean marks_.

_**Glowing** Altean marks._

Eyes wide he quickly scrambled to wipe away the makeup on his other cheek only to show the same blue “v” shape glowing on his face. His breathing quickened as he tried to think of a reasonable excuse for why he’d ever have any Altean marks of any kind.

“No, no…” He breathlessly whispered. He couldn’t even form a sentence in his head. This had to be his mind messing with him. Maybe it was the lack of oxygen they’ve been dealing with for the past 3 hours? Maybe it was… He didn’t know… It couldn’t be a prank… What did it even mean??

Could he tell the others?? Any explanation would be nice but what would they even say?? The only experts on all things Altean were almost all gone doing who knows what in a magical dimension world. He couldn’t bother Coran about this. He was already busy thinking about Allura and a million other things.

He looked back at himself in the mirror. His breathing hadn’t slowed down and neither did his sweating, in fact, he felt even more sweaty. Was he nervous?? Excited??  _Both??_ Probably… His brows furrowed together as he felt the bright blue marks on his cheeks. They felt like his skin but at the same time,  _something_ felt different. He couldn’t help but stare at his reflection.

Lance continued to wipe the makeup off of his cheeks and the rest of his face. He never stopped staring at his marks. They were so new and even  _beautiful_? He didn’t even want to think about the reasons he had them. Instead, he just stared. So blue and so bright, just like Alluras before she left with Lotor. He loved how they made his eyes illuminate towards the light source. The glistening blue lit up his warm tanned skin so well and it almost made him upset this was his first time seeing this.

He almost forgot about how weird his marks were until he heard knocking on his door. “Lance? You’ve been in there a while! You good?” He could hear Hunk’s concerned voice from outside in the hall.

He almost tripped over a few shampoo bottles from the counters. “U-Uh yeah! I’m fine! Just washing up!” He stammered. What was he supposed to do?? Walk out with these markings on his face for no reason he knew?? No, no, no… Not gonna happen… He had no idea what the marks meant but he couldn’t tell the others just yet… It was all so new still and he couldn’t worry the others with another intergalactic mystery. Not when everyone was already so stressed.

“Oh okay, man! We were just worried about you that’s all!” He could hear Hunk’s smile as he spoke. “When you’re done we’ll be working down in the control room trying to get some power up here.”

“Okay, thanks for the heads up!” His voice was still uneasy. Lance looked back at himself in the mirror. The makeup would have to go back on…

After a quick shower and drying off, he put his foundation back on as well as his paladin armor. He never had a problem putting on makeup, in fact, he loved it! This time…  _This_ time felt different. _It felt like a mask_. He looked at his still glowing marks one last time before squirting foundation onto his brush.

_It felt wrong._

Now with his only light source gone he blindly navigated back to the halls where there was at least a bit more light. His steps were uncertain and hesitant. “Hunk? Pidge? Coran?” He called for them as he walked down the hall, a hand on the wall keeping him on track.

“Down here, Lance!” He heard Coran’s voice further down the dim hallway. He walked faster and almost hit his face on the door before stopping himself to let it open before entering.

“Man, it’s  _so_ dark over there… How’d you guys even navigate yourselves down here??” Lance plopped down next to where Hunk was working.

“You know we have flashlights on our wrists, right?” Hunk chuckled a bit, handing a tool over to Pidge.

Lance blushed as his brows furrowed. “Y-Yeah, I knew that! I was just… saving my power.” He was such a bad liar but it was already too embarrassing.

Seated, he kept thinking of his marks. He knew his face was easy to read so he had to think of something else… Something else to worry about… Oh! Allura!

“What’s happening? What do you think they’re doing right now?” Lance bounced his leg, brows still furrowed.

“Now?” Pidge connected some wires.

“Yes, now.” Lance stared at the floor.

“Nope.” Coran sighed.

“Wait, what?” Lance looked over at them.

Pidge huffed. “We’re not talking to you, Lance.” She disconnected and reconnected the wires. “Is this doing anything?”

“Do you think she’s alright? I mean, will they be able to get back??” Lance turned to face the others.

“I don’t think so-”

Lance cut Hunk off. “-What?? You don’t??”

“He’s not talking to you!” Pidge huffed again and fiddled with the wiring.

“Well excuse me for being concerned!!”

“Coran, try to fire the chargers,” Pidge said as Coran fiddled with the cables in his hands.

“It’s just  _nerve wrecking_  waiting for Allura to get back!” Lance stood and began pacing.

“I’m afraid they’re dead,” Coran said in a monotone voice.

“WHAT???” Lance screamed, turning back to face them.

“Shiro, can you take Lance please????” Pidge yelled, already tired of everything.

Lance winced and tried avoiding eye contact with Shiro. He trudged his feet out into the halls. “It’s okay, Shiro. I’ll be quiet. You don’t have to babysit me…” He groaned, resting his forehead on the wall. He knew Shiro probably didn’t have the most patience him blowing up at Lance earlier. He didn’t want to deal with angry Shiro again.

“Lance, uh, let me ask you something.” Shiro began.

_Oh no here it comes…_

“Do you remember on Olkarion how you asked me about talking to you from inside Voltron?” He said, voice low.

Lance’s ears perked up a bit as he turned around. He wasn’t expecting to talk about that. “Yeah.” His voice was soft, still wary of trying to keep the peace between him and Shiro.

“What happened there? I can’t remember any of it…” Lance could see how sincere he was. It almost made him feel bad for earlier.

“Um… We were all in some sort of mystical Voltron mindscape and you were yelling something but I.. I couldn’t hear you. A-Are you okay?” He was turned facing him now.

“I-I… I don’t know… My head… I’m just…” He sighed. “I’m feeling so confused. It’s like…”

“What…?”

Shiro paused as if looking for the right words to say. “…Like I’m not myself.”

Lance thought for a moment. “It’s probably just a lack of oxygen… You should sit down. We’ll get through this.” He and Shiro slid down to the floor, keeping his eyes down.


	2. Trust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance does some real heckin thinking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your sweet comments on the last chapter! Here's an even longer chapter (almost 5.5k words!!) <3 Love u guys!!

_Snoring_

_Snoring_

_Snoring_

_Snoring_

_Snoring_

 

“...ance.”

 

“...ance.”

 

“Lance.”

 

A finger kept poking at his shoulder as a voice kept saying his name.

 

“Lance!”

 

His eyes shot open as he looked for the source of the voice. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Shiro crouched in front of him. “I didn’t think it’d take _this_ much to wake you up.” Shiro ruffled Lance’s hair and chuckled.

“Hey, I worked hard on that!” He swatted Shiro’s hand away and pouted. He yawned as Shiro stuck out a hand for him. “Feeling any better, Shiro?” He asked, seeing as he was in a better mood than before.

Shiro smiled a bit and nodded. “Yeah, a little. Though, it’s still really hot.” Lance could tell the lack of moving air was getting to him too. His forehead was sweaty as well as his hair.

“Yeah… I wish we could make paper fans or something…” Lance huffed and straightened his hair out with his fingers, his hair already damp again even after getting cleaned up. “Why’d you wake me up anyway? I was having a _very_ nice dream.”

“The team couldn’t get the power up and running so we’re heading back to the bridge to wait for the princess and Lotor. We need you up there since we can’t monitor you from up there if you’re sleeping down here.” He began walking towards the bridge of the ship.

Lance didn’t follow immediately. Shiro seemed to continue walking without him which was weird on its own. He watched Shiro for a couple more seconds before beginning to walk too.

  


It was getting even _hotter_ through those impossible hours. The radiation from the white hole made it hard to focus on anything else besides the heat and how it’s been almost an entire day and Allura and Lotor haven’t returned.

“I know I’ve... asked this a million times already… but… when do you guys think they’ll come back…?” Lance’s voice dragged as he struggled to breathe. He was laying on his back on the ground near the others.

 

“Oxygen levels at 15%” The announcement blared.

 

“Lance… Please let’s just wait… I’m so tired and you talking about something we can’t control is wasting our precious air…” Pidge loved Lance but today was not the day to be asking so many questions that had no answer.

“I’m sorry… I just…” Breathing was getting really hard. He didn’t continue and closed his eyes. One of the scariest things about fighting a war in territory your species has never been to is having to fight something that had no side. Their quickly decreasing amounts of oxygen was no exception.

 

He couldn’t stop thinking about his marks in those slow 10 minutes. Blue. They were blue. Did that mean something? Corans are blue… Allura’s are pink… and Lotor’s are pink? And also hidden most of the time? How did that even work? Most importantly… he might be part Altean… He’d been pushing that idea away for the last few hours but the realization finally hit him.

_He’s really really part Altean._

So human and Altean? Does that mean he can do that magical weird stuff like Allura? _Wait… Shouldn’t he be_ **_with_ ** _Allura?_ His marks glowed too! Doesn’t that mean he has the mark of the chosen?? He was chosen!

His breathing slowed down, if that was even possible at that point.

 

He was _chosen_.

 

Just the thought made him want to smile! He was chosen. Him. Out of everyone (minus Lotor and Allura). He reached a hand up to his face and smiled a bit. He was still feeling light headed and weak but just _knowing_ he had something so amazing was enough to make him want to find out more. Could he ask Allura when she came back? He didn’t want to bother anyone but this mystery was getting to him.

 

“Oxygen levels at 5%” The announcement blared.

 

“There must be some way for us… to harness the power of the white hole… and use it… to get the ship working…” Pidge had to force those words out as breathing was getting near impossible.

“We’ve tried everything… I don’t think… I can keep moving…” Hunk’s body lay still as oxygen deprivation continued to take over him.

Lance was ready to close his eyes again when he saw two moving objects on the screen. What was it?? Wait- It looked like!-

“Guys! It’s Allur-...” Lance felt his vision fade as his arm he used to point fell down to the hard metal floor. His eyes fluttered closed for what felt like a brief moment.

 

_Footsteps._

 

“Hold on, Paladins. Air is coming.” Lance heard Allura’s voice as he regained consciousness. It was a bit echo-y but he was so happy to hear her. A few beeping sounds and he could feel the fresh oxygen fill his lungs again.

 

…

 

“You did it!” Coran’s voice was strained but much better than before.

“We… we should’ve never doubted you…” Lance finally stood, though still dizzy.

“Well I couldn’t have done it without Lotor.” She turned to smile at him. That sparkle in her eyes couldn’t be missed.

“You are a _true_ Altean alchemist. Oriande was for you not for me.” Lotor’s eyes locked with hers for a brief moment.

Lance furrowed his brows. Just the thought of them having so much alone time made him upset. It wasn’t total jealousy but more he felt protective? Either way it bothered him but he knew it was too late for him to really do anything. The least he could do is just look out for Allura.

“So what’s the next step?” Pidge adjusted her glasses.

Lance groaned. “Slow down, Pidge… We just started _breathing_ again.” He was still leaning on Coran.

“It’s alright, Lance.” Allura looked towards him. “I think the team deserves a break for today. Tomorrow I’ll call everyone down to discuss what we’ll do next.”

“Oh thank God…” Lance sighed, leaning his head against Coran. He was still feeling really light headed. “I’m so hungry and tired. Hunk, got any plans on what you’re doing for dinner?”

Hunk shrugged. “Not yet but you’re welcome to come with me.” He grinned at his friend, though still tired. “I’m just hoping nothing got spoiled with the power outage.” He fumbled with his thumbs.

“I’ll come too. I wanna talk to you about this new…” Lance stopped listening mostly because whenever they started their _conversations_ they never usually consisted of words he knew.

He let his mind wander as he walked with Hunk and Pidge towards the kitchen. _‘They don’t even know i’m Altean… When should I tell them? I want to ask someone about it but who? This is everyone’s day off too. Maybe running some tests with Coran? Ugh maybe not today. The poor man needs to sleep. Definitely not asking Shiro… I’m not in the mood for yelling, a lecture, or him yelling as he lectures me. Allura’s probably gonna be busy with Lotor and obviously I’m not going to Lotor about this. Hunk and Pidge wouldn’t be ideal to ask either since they’d probably know nothing about this.’_ He frowned a bit. _‘Keith.’_

Keith wasn’t a paladin anymore so he was hardly around. Before they got Shiro back he went to Keith to talk about a few of his problems and he remembered always feeling better afterwards. But Keith wasn’t here. He was hardly here.

A pang of homesickness filled his heart. He missed his old team. He missed the amazing leader Shiro was. Always supportive, always cared, always let everyone make the decision. He missed not having Lotor around. He felt less on edge when he wasn’t around. Mostly, he missed Keith. After ‘team punk’ became a thing it was hard to talk to anyone on the ship anymore. The only person who’s been able to listen to him was Keith and now he’s gone doing Blade stuff.

“...ance!”

Lance’s head jolted up at hearing his name so loudly. “Y-Yeah?” He looked over at Pidge and Hunk.

“I’ve been calling your name! You okay? Either you have a resting sad face or something’s wrong.” Hunk’s hands were paused in the middle of chopping something. Pidge looked concerned too, her screen partly down and looking at Lance.

Lance didn’t say anything for a moment, not exactly sure _what_ to say. He already decided he wasn’t going to tell them about his marks just yet but what about the other stuff? No. This was their day off too. Let them enjoy themselves. “I’m fine. I think the lack of oxygen got me bad.” He chuckled. “I’m gonna go take a nap or something. Call me down when food’s ready, will ya?” He sent them a grin. He was a little too good at hiding his emotions.

Hunk smiled a bit and nodded. “Yeah of course! Take care, man!” He and Pidge waved, a little skeptical, but they both brushed it off for the most part. They all _had_ just been deprived of oxygen for a large portion of the day.

Lance hopped down from the counter and walked out of the kitchen, a little too quickly. He need to walk around a bit before going back to his room.

He began counting his steps as his brain often distracted itself with until he heard some voices coming from the bridge. He picked up his head and looked towards the source of those voices. One of them was different.

“-But Shiro I need to talk to you!” The voice strained.

“Doesn’t matter! You can’t just board the ship with no message in advance and expect to have my undivided attention!” Shiro spat. “We’re very busy planning our next steps! Whatever it is it can wait.”

Lance winced at his tone. He was yelling at _Keith_ . Well, _screen_ Keith. Lance peaked his head through the door of the bridge and saw Keith on a video call with Shiro, Allura, and Lotor.

“Shiro, it’s alright. He can come back for a bit. Everyone needs a break and it seems that he has something very important to discuss with you.” Allura stepped closer to him.

Lotor stepped in too. “Allura’s right. He used to be a paladin. It should be alright for him to visit.” His eye brows were furrowed.

Lance could see Shiro clench his jaw and fists. For a second he thought he was gonna hit Lotor. He wasn’t a fan of the guy but he was just trying to help just as Allura was.

“Fine. But only a day or two. You have work with the Blade to do and we have work with Voltron to do. Got it?” He raised a brow, scowl never leaving his face. He locked eyes with Keith. His stare was excruciating.

Keith hesitantly nodded. “Y-Yeah. Only a day or two. I got it.” His pressed his lips together and looked down. “I’ll be there in a few hours.” The screen cut off and disappeared as the call ended. Lance felt like he got second hand anxiety from watching that.

 

_Wait._

 

_Keith’s coming back?_

 

A small smile appeared on his lips. Just the thought of Keith coming back was enough to make him feel better. He quickly ran back to his room and closed the door. Wash up first then wait for Keith. Yeah that’s a good plan.

He ridded himself of his shirt first and turned on the water. Pausing, he looked at himself on the mirror over the countertop, makeup wipes still out. “Lotor’s marks were gone… Let’s see if mine are too.” With a few wipes he removed the make up from each cheek.

 

“Nothing.”

 

His voice was quiet and almost sad. His skin was clear again and it made him a little sad. Moving on, he took off the rest of his clothes and took a shower, though longer than usual.

_‘How am I going to tell him about this? I don’t have any proof anymore, not that he’d call me a liar… but having proof is nice. He’s part Galra so maybe I could ask him how he dealt with it? What it means?’_

He paused for a second, water still trickling down his face.

 _‘How the heck am_ **_I_ ** _part Altean?’_ He stayed in that state of utter confusion for a good several minutes. _‘If I’m part Altean… then what abilities do I have? Why don’t I have those elf ears like Allura? Does this mean others on Earth are-’_

“Lance! Dinner’s ready!” Knocking on his bedroom door quickly drew him out of his thoughts. “Hunk said to be down in a few minutes of your food will get cold!” Pidge knocked a few more times. “Lance?”

Lance stuck his head out of the shower. “Okay thanks! I’ll be there after I get dressed!”

Pidge scrunched her nose. “Yes _please_ put some clothes on before coming down!” She chuckled a bit before walking back to where the others were.

Lance chuckled a bit too before finishing up and getting ready. After putting on his clothes he looked in the mirror. “No marks, no makeup.” He trailed his fingers gently over the part of his skin that once had the marks. _‘It’d be nice to take a break from that for a while too.’_ He thought. He loved wearing make up every few days but taking a break could be nice. It wasn’t like he did it to feel better about himself since it was mostly for fun.

He turned off the lights and headed out into the hall. He made it barely two feet before hitting something since he was still distracted from still getting his hoodie on. He stumbled backwards but caught himself on the wall.

“Oh- I’m sorry-” He looked up to see who it was. “I-I’m sorry, Shiro. I didn’t see you there.” He felt his cheeks heat up. _‘Well this is embarrassing...’_ His brows furrowed as he watched Shiro’s reaction.

He was slightly turned around to Lance but he shook his head. Lance could’ve _sworn_ he saw Shiro roll his eyes. Shiro _rolled his eyes_ at him _??_ He knew Shiro’s been acting weird lately but this was just out right _rude_. Lance frowned and crossed his arms over his chest as Shiro walked away, not even commenting on what had happened. So much for his childhood hero.

Lance kept his eyes on the floor with his brows knitted together. He hated being treated like that. When he finally reached the kitchen he saw the others and instantly felt better. Seeing their smiling faces was all he needed to forget about everything happening with Shiro.

“Hey, Lance! I made our favorite tonight! It’s not the healthiest but I’m sure we can eat healthy tomorrow since we’re resting today.” Hunk grinned as he handed Lance his plate. Lance’s expression softened at his friend’s voice. He uncrossed his arms and took the plate into his hands.

“Garlic knot pizza!” Lance grinned. “This is the perfect meal after a long day. Thanks Hunk!” He gave a quick hug to Hunk before sitting down with his plate. He sat in his normal seat before beginning to eat. He watched everyone get their food and join him at the table.

 

Everyone except Shiro.

 

He watched Shiro grab his plate, not even saying thank you, and promptly leaving the dining hall. Lance saw the others look at one another. “Something’s really wrong… He’s been acting so weird lately…” Pidge raised a brow.

“Yeah he’s normally one of the most polite people I know but…” Hunk looked down. “...Now it’s like he hardly cares?” Hunk looked as if he was in pain saying that.

Lance paused, setting the pizza back onto the plate. “Maybe someone should talk to him? Maybe Keith? They were already close before we were paladins.” Lance looked to the others. He remembered Keith wanted to talk to Shiro about something so maybe they could nudge Keith to address this weird change. He remembered back when Keith was switching from the Blade to Voltron Shiro would get angrier than normal at him. Lance understood he was still trying to find a place for himself but it seemed like Shiro didn’t care.

“Perhaps… I don’t think the majority of us could talk to him about this without some sort of conflict…” Allura sighed. She really missed their leader. The leader that she first met back all those months ago.

Lotor was at her side, taking his seat next to her. “When did he begin to change? I’ve only known him for a few weeks.” He wanted to help but he didn’t have much information to go off of. He picked up a slice of pizza from his plate and inspected it a bit.

“It’s not poisonous.” Pidge chuckled. “It’s so sad to think you’ve never had pizza before.”

Lotor looked down at the slice again. “It’s just that it smells so foreign. Not bad, just different.” He raised it to his mouth before taking a bite out.

As if forgetting about the last questions about Shiro, the team was distracted by Lotor’s seemingly spiritual experience. “Dude… I can’t tell if you like it or not.” Hunk laughed a bit.

“You said this was pizza?” Lotor said, forgetting his mouth was full.

Hunk nodded. “Yeah. You like it?” Hunk was holding back another laugh. Seeing Lotor in a normal setting just hanging out with everyone was really different, but definitely amusing to watch.

Lotor quickly nodded. “It’s absolutely delicious! Is this earth food?” He continued to eat. “Can you teach me how to make it?” He looked up at Hunk.

Lance, Pidge, and Allura couldn’t help but laugh a little. It was so rare to see Lotor as just a normal guy who also liked pizza. “Sure! I’d love to!” Hunk was overjoyed someone liked his food so much. “There’s more back there in the kitchen if you still want more.” Hunk hadn’t stopped smiling.

“Yes, probably I’d like more.” He said between bites. He looked like he was feeling more comfortable with the paladins as he glanced at Allura every now and then with a smile so sweet it was cavity inducing.

“That trip to Oriande really did some good for us, didn’t it?” Allura chuckled a bit, eating her food at a much slower pace but enjoying it just as much.

Lotor paused and swallowed his food. “Yes, yes it did.” He smiled. He looked fondly at her for a moment or two before continuing his meal.

Lance watched him, lips pressed together and eye brows furrowed. He loved Allura so much and he just wanted to protect her like if she was his sister. He didn’t even care about dating her anymore, seeing as she clearly wasn’t interested and how well they seemed to get along in a brother and sister dynamic. “So what was Oriande like? You never really told us much about it.” Lance leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the table and resting his plate on his stomach.

Allura smiled. “Oh it was _beautiful_ , Lance! It was like a surreal pink wonderland!” She grinned like a child, sparkles in her eyes.

Lotor’s eyes looked up at him too. “Yes, it was quite a magical realm. There were floating islands and lots of clouds, but really soft and pink.” Lotor was smiling a bit as he talked. “Allura and I climbed a few mountains but it was all worth it. It was truly a magnificent sight.” He looked to Allura again before finishing his second slice.

Lance gave them a fake smile as he bounced his leg a bit, still up on the table. “That sounds awesome! I wish we could all go.” His fake smile faltered. _He_ could’ve gone… _He_ could’ve seen the bright pink landscapes… _He_ could’ve been in the land where Altean alchemy was born… He felt cheated out of so much.

Allura’s eyes softened. “Lance, it’s alright. You have the whole universe to see! In fact, I found a planet with similar beaches like how you described the ones you have on Earth. Perhaps on one of these quintants we can visit.” Her voice was hopeful and cautious. She knew how much Lance and the others loved seeing the vastness of beauty in nature on all the planets they visit. “Would you like that, Lance?”

Lance raised his brows as a soft smile found its way to his lips. “Y-Yeah actually. I’d love that.” His eyes lowered to the floor. “I miss Earth… A lot… How do you cope with everything that happened with Altea…?” He looked up at her again, this time everyone’s gaze followed.

Allura signed. “It’s hard. Sometimes I don’t even _know_ if I can get through a day. Talking to Coran has been one of the best things for me.” She looked to him. He’d been pretty quiet letting the paladins talk. “Having you all with me is like having a net to fall back on if I need help. It’s difficult to deal with grief in the middle of a war.” Allura looked at Coran again. “What about you, Coran?”

Putting his slice down he smiled sadly. “Before all of this started, I had a family. Loosing them was one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to go through but I know if I had _stayed_ with them I wouldn’t have been here for Allura helping end this war. Knowing we’re _so_ much closer to ending this bloodshed that’s lasted over ten thousand years does help me sleep at night.” He looked up at them. “I like to think they’d be proud of us, don’t you think?”

Hunk had left his seat along with Pidge a few seconds before Coran finished. The Altean found himself in a warm hug from the two paladins, Lance joining in soon after. “Aw Coran!! You’re the best adoptive space uncle a paladin could ask for!!” Hunk cried.

“I didn’t want to cry today but yeah I’m with Hunk!” Pidge wiped her nose.

Hugging back Coran chuckled. “You three remind me so much of my own children. So brave and kind. I’m glad you’re all here helping us stop the war.” He smiled softly at them.

Lance still had his arms around the other three when he looked up at Allura and Lotor. “Come on you two. Mandatory group hug!” He chuckled.

Allura chuckled a bit too before taking Lotor’s hand and making her way to the others. Lotor hesitantly followed her lead with the hug but he was so bad at it as if he didn’t know how to control his own arms but he was trying, which Allura appreciated.

“Okay, you guys smell bad, group hug is over now.” Lance said after a few moments. He scrunched his nose and began backing away from them. “I’m gonna go for seconds if anyone wants to join me.” Lance walked with his plate around the long table and into the kitchen with a certain Altean-Galran emperor following close behind. He grabbed another slice but not before bumping hands with Lotor. He felt a pang of energy bolt up through his arm as he jerked it away.

“Dude what the heck??” Lance jumped back and away from him.

Lotor’s eyes widened a bit. “What? What happened??” He had no clue why Lance looked so jumpy.

“You just zapped me! Is that some weird Galra thing?? You just zap people so they get out of your way?” Lance crossed his arms and squinted his eyes at him. No Galra princey boy was gonna pull some magic nonsense on him.

“L-Lance, I don’t know what you’re talking about but if you’re upset about me bumping into your hand I _am_ sorry. I’ll be better about watching where I’m going next time.” He grabbed his slice and looked at Lance one last time before walking back into the dining hall.

Lance watched him leave, still eyeing him as he left. He could still feel that energy in his arm as it slowly faded. It didn’t really hurt but it definitely felt like a zap. Could Lotor really not feel that? Why didn’t that happen during the hug? Well… He wasn’t exactly touching Allura or Lotor when they hugged. Lance was squeezed between Pidge and Hunk during their group ‘bonding moment’.

Lance decided to brush it off and get his pizza before seeing his reflection in the pizza tray. The _marks_ were back. Well, kind of… They looked like they were faded into his skin. Could Lotor see that? Maybe it just slowly appeared so Lotor didn’t see? He didn’t want anyone to know just yet… He quickly pulled his hood over his head and pulled the strings a little to cover his cheeks.

He heard footsteps coming into the kitchen and quickly turned away. “Lance? What… What are you doing…” Pidge was in with her plate. Man no one could get enough of Hunk’s food.

Lance kept his body turned, cheeks heating up which only added to the contrast of his warm tanned skin and the cool blue of his marks. “U-Uh nothing… Just getting some food.” He could've sworn his was like 3 octaves higher than normal.

She huffed. “Lance it’s fine if you want seconds. I’m pretty sure everyone’s getting seconds.” She was right behind him getting her food. “You’ve been acting weird lately too… not _Shiro_ weird but still weird. You okay?” She tapped his shoulder. Sure he was a pain in the butt sometimes but if something was wrong she’d want to help.

“No, no, I’m fine. Just tired after today…” He took a big bite out of his pizza in order to avoid talking. “I’ll be in there with the others, byeeee…” He adjusted his hood again to make sure his face was really hidden as he took his seat. He tried eating fast to get out of there quicker.

“And then Pidge was like ‘you should double modulate!’ and I was like ‘oh goodness _no,_ Pidge!’ That was insane! Double modulating is such a waste of time!” Hunk was with Coran rambling on about stuff he liked.

Lance was glad he was taking up everyone’s attention. It left him alone to try to finish up and get out of there before-

“Lance it’s been so long since we’ve gotten to really talk. How are you doing?” The princess pulled up a seat next to him and rested her hand over Lance’s. That same bolt of energy shot up his arm, this time stronger and even hurting a little.

Without thinking he immediately pulled his hand away and winced. His head was starting to hurt, almost like he had a headache and earache all in one.

Allura pulled her hand away too. “O-Oh I’m sorry, Lance! Did I shock you?” She didn’t feel anything but she’d accidently shocked Pidge before and learned humans have that funny quirk about them. Lotor watched them from his seat, the situation feeling similar.

Lance held his hand close to his chest. “Um, no, you’re fine, I’ve just-” He took his remaining pizza crust and bolted to the door. This was getting _ridiculous_. Just by touching the magical Alteans on the ship he was getting zapped and didn’t know why. “I gotta go! It was nice talking to you!-” He panicked and closed the door behind him.

He ran down the halls, still chewing on his remaining crust, all the way to his room. It was the only place on the ship he could be alone without someone walking in. The door closed with a swish and the lights flickered on. Leaning on the now closed door, he slid down and sighed. He needed a plan and he needed one now.

What did he know at this point? He had at least a _little_ Altean in his genes because of the marks, he knew that much. He couldn’t think of any other reason for his marks, besides, Lotor had the same thing happen to him. Maybe since they were still near the opening to Oriande the effects were still present? He knew they were both magical so maybe them touching him was the reason? When Allura touches the Teleduv with her hands it’s pretty magical so maybe-

A swish of the door he was leaning on opened leaving him falling to the floor with a loud thud and yelp. “Ow, what the-” He looked up from his spot on the floor. “L-Lotor!-” He quickly pulled his hood over his cheeks. “W-What are you doing here??” He was still on the floor looking upside-down at Lotor standing tall over him, cheeks heating up.

Lotor kneeled down to Lance’s level, or where he’d be if he sat up again. “I need to talk you… about what happened earlier…” His voice was quiet but serious.

Lance felt like he was sinking even lower. “I’d rather not…” His voice was high again, keeping his hood over his face.

“Lance…”

“I don’t wanna talk because I’m tired.” He was so obviously lying.

“Lance, this is important. Please let me see you.” Lotor began to pull Lance’s hands away from his face which only resulted in that bolt of energy shooting up his arms.

Lance winced, letting go of his hood.The pain was so much stronger than before and his head could feel a lot of that pain. His hood fell down lower, exposing his now bright blue marks. They weren’t glowing but the color was still beautiful, blue, and bright. Lance’s eyes had shut close and his hands were in fists held up to his chest in a protective way.

“Lance… You’re Altean…?” Lotor’s hand traced over one of his marks. They looked just like Allura’s but blue.

Lance turned away and sat up. “I guess so.” He felt so weird about it. “I don’t know.” He was almost mad it was Lotor that discovered it first. He was saving it to tell Coran, Keith, or Allura. He hardly knew him, let alone _trusted_ him! He didn’t know what Lotor wanted to do with that information. He’s been so sketchy ever since they’ve met.

Lotor’s hands rested on his knees as he watched Lance sit up and face him a bit. “You don’t know?” He raised his brows.

Lance huffed. “No, I don’t! This is just as new to me as it is to you…” He mumbled. “They… They started glowing when your’s and Allura’s marks started glowing. I’ve never seen them before today.” Lance was sitting with his legs crossed in front of Lotor now. “You’ve studied a ton of Altean stuff. Do you... know _anything_ about something like this?” He pointed to his marks. If Lotor knew he might as well take advantage of his extensive knowledge on the subject and try to figure out what’s going on.

Lotor pressed his lips together. “Maybe… Because of these marks I know for a fact you’re part Altean. The glowing bit is still a mystery. My mother was linked to Altean alchemy and so was Allura’s father, though a lot more so than my mother.” He paused for a moment, as if trying to find the right words. “Lance… I think it’d be wise to run some tests on you DNA. The castle might have some information on your heritage and how an Altean got on Earth or maybe who it was?”

“I don’t know if I want to… What if I find something I really don’t like?” Lance rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

Lotor chuckled a bit. “It can’t be worse than _my_ lineage. You might find something you actually like.”

“Like what?” Lance’s eyes slowly met Lotor’s.

“Hmm… Maybe you might be _royalty_ …” He chuckled again.

“Oh haha… You just want to see if I descended from peasants or something.”

“No, no, Lance. I just think the information in your DNA will be valuable to you and maybe even the team. What do you say?” He held out a hand.

Now he knew why Allura trusted him so much. He was _great_ at arguing a point. “O-Okay… But only Coran can do it…”

“Alright. Let’s go, Lance.” Lotor stood and helped Lance up. “If you’d like you can keep your hood up until we’re there.”

Lance nodded, tugging at the strings. “Let’s go find Coran.”


	3. Gone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I love throwing them into chaos??

“This is dumb.” Lance pulled the hoodie strings tighter, only letting his nose poke out.

“Think what you want but I really do believe this is going to be very beneficial. Besides, your marks are still glowing while mine and Allura’s aren’t. That has to mean something.” Lotor looked ahead.

“Still… It’s just weird… I don’t have any Altean features so how do we know I’m even Altean?” Lance pressed his lips. Part of him loved the idea of being part Altean but another part of him was scared. It was kind of a once in a lifetime experience to find out you’re part alien.

Lotor stopped and turned to Lance. “Lance, I know we haven't gotten along as well as I had hoped but you need to stop worrying. Just trust me.”

The tension in Lance’s fists holding onto the strings of his hood hesitantly loosened. He wanted to trust him like Allura did. “Okay. I will.” He took a shaky breath in and out.

The two walked in a calmer silence, Lance keeping his head down and Lotor leading the way. After a few minutes of walking down a floor they reached the dining hall again where they last saw Coran.

“Lance, wait here and I’ll ask Coran to meet us out here.” Lotor gave him one more look before letting the door open and close behind him. Lance tugged on his hoodie strings again and huffed. He’d been shaking ever since Lotor bumped hands with him and he only felt more panicked as each second passed.

With a swish of the door Lance’s head perked up. He could see Lotor whispering something to Coran before they both turned to Lance. “Let’s head to the infirmary… We can do some tests there.” Lotor whispered.

Lance made brief eye contact with Coran before promptly looking down at his feet again. “H-Hey, Coran…” His voice broke at his name.

Coran put a hand on Lance’s shoulder very fatherly. “It’ll be alright… Just hang in there.” Coran would’ve been more happy to see the existence of another Altean but seeing the look on Lance’s nervous face was all he needed to hold his excitement in for a bit.

They walked and walked. No talking. No glances. Lance kept his hands on his hoodie strings until they arrived. He hated how white and bright it could be. The room with the pods was just a few steps away in the next room. In this room it felt more like a science lab than a hospital to run tests.

The door closed behind them and the lights beamed on one by one. Lotor made sure to keep his distance from Lance but did stay close enough to help Coran understand everything they knew at that point. “Lance, take off your hoodie please.” Lotor stood beside Coran, though Coran was closer.

With a pout he lazily took it off and dropped it to the floor beside the hospital bed. “What now…?” He felt himself cross his arms over his chest protectively as if he was trying to close himself off. His marks still glowed but now he felt Coran’s eyes on them.

“We’re going to follow proper procedure so if you will…” Lotor pointed to the hospital bed.

“Ugh, really? This feels so weird already.” He trudged to the bed and climbed on top. The sheets were covered in what looked like a thin cloth over thick plastic. Not comfortable.

Coran was already booting up some machinery and washing some instruments. “Lance, I know about your marks but is there anything else you need to tell me? Any information will be helpful.” Coran still glanced up at Lance’s glowing marks, as was Lotor.

Lance fiddled with his thumbs now resting on his stomach. “Well… They appeared when Lotor and Allura’s did but I didn’t see until later when I took off my makeup.” Lance bit his lip. “I, um, I also started feeling something really weird whenever Allura or Lotor touched me. At first it didn’t hurt but the last time it happened it really started to hurt my arms and head.”

Coran stroked his mustache for a moment. “Hmm… We’re still in the quadrant of the white hole where Oriande is located so maybe some of the effects are still present… There are still many things we don’t know yet... but Lance…”

Lance looked up from his hands. “Y-Yeah…?”

“It’s going to be alright. No matter what we find you’ll be alright.” Coran walked up to the side of the bed. “I’m going to attach these wires to you. They’re going to monitor your vitals as we conduct the tests and no worries, it won’t hurt a bit.” He gently stuck them to his arms and the sides of his head.

“I feel stupid.” Lance pouted as the last tube was placed on his head. “So what now?”

Coran pulled up a monitor and hit a few buttons. “Everything looks normal- except for the increased adrenaline in your system.”

Lance squirmed a bit. “That seems right…”

Coran looked at Lance and then at Lotor. “Lance, I know you won’t like this but I’m gonna need Lotor and you to touch again.” He pulled up a more detailed display of Lance’s vitals.

Lance tensed his muscles. “Uh, no, no, no, no! It felt like he electrocuted me last time!!”

“Lance, you _must_ or we can’t find out why it’s happening.” Lotor was at his side. “If it becomes too much you can tell me to stop.”

He shook more, if that was even possible. “O-Okay. Ugh this really _really_ sucks.” Lance lifted his hand to Lotor.

Lotor lowered his eyes to his hand. “Tell me if I need to stop, Lance.” He put both of his hands on Lance’s.

He felt something like a bolt of energy racing through his veins. It was hot, almost like he was burning. “It hurts! It hurts!” The pain reached up through this arms and into his head. He had migraines before but this was so much worse. The throbbing and the burning overcame him. His eyes shut tight. His jaw clenched. “It hurts, Lotor!! Stop now!” His breath hitched in his throat as he yelled.

Lotor’s eyes widened a bit and pulled his hands back. “Coran, what’s happening??” He demanded.

“This is incredible! Lance! You’re entire genetic make up is changing!” Coran’s eyes were wide and excited. This had never happened before!

Lance lay huffing on the incredibly uncomfortable medical bed. “My… genetic… make up…?” He still felt the stinging sensation in his arms and head.

Coran nodded. “Lance… Your DNA is _physically_ changing…” He hit a few buttons and pulled up even more details about Lance. “It seems like you’re changing from the inside out! It would explain the pain you’re experiencing. Changing a being’s entire genetic make up is no easy task... “

Lotor watched. “What’s he changing to?” He knew the answer but wanted the confirmation.

“I can’t tell exactly but based on what we know right now… it looks an awful lot like an Altean.”

Lance still shook a little. “Altean…? So I guess that’s that. Why am I changing…?” He sat up a bit, eyes still half lidded.

“Maybe it’s because Lotor and Allura are still ‘energized’ with Altean magic from being in Oriande for so long.”

“I think that _is_ the reason… Lance, do you want to continue changing?” Lotor locked eyes with him. His tone was serious and his voice was low.

Lance shook his head. “N-No… No it hurt too much.” He furrowed his brows. “How much of me has changed since before all of this started…?”

Coran scrolled through his data. “From the last time we monitored your vitals, it seems that only 14 percent of you has changed… If you had decided to continue I’m sure the pain might’ve worsened.”

“I… I don’t want to continue.”

“We... understand. Coran, let’s leave this quadrant.” Lotor lowered his eyes to the floor.

“I’ll let the princess know.” He paused. “I do think we should tell the others as well.” He began taking the tubes off of Lance.

Lance looked down. “Can we wait…? I’m… still not used to it.”

Lotor looked over at Coran. “I suppose we can’t force him. But Lance, you’ll have to tell them eventually.”

He grumbled and crossed his arms. “Fine…” He paused and took a deep breath. “I’m gonna go take a nap…” He uncrossed his arms and sat up more.

The two watched him as he jumped down from the bed. “If you need me I’ll be in my room.” He picked up his jacket and trudged out.

  


Lance dragged his feet, letting his jacket trail behind in his hand. “Altean… How… Why…?” He let his thoughts wander. The door to his room opened and he plopped on his bed. Kicking off his shoes he splayed his limbs over the edge, jacket on the floor.

He felt so conflicted. He didn’t want to deal with his emotions or anything that was happening. He wished he could push it all to the side and never have to deal with it but at the same time it was amazing to think about out of everything in the universe that could’ve happened he was somehow part Altean, a nearly extinct alien race.

He stretched and let out a huff. “Altean… I’m Altean…?” His voice was small. He took a deep breath in. He needed to talk to someone. Someone who’d understand.

 

He sat up.

 

“Keith.”

 

He quickly put on his coat again, kind of annoyed about having to get up. Putting his shoes back on, he stood and walked out of his room and towards the lion hangars. He would just have to wait for Keith to arrive.

  


“Ugh what’s taking so long…” He grumbled to himself. It’d been an hour since he began waiting. He was getting more and more desperate to talk to someone about the whole Altean thing. His thoughts were still so messy and confusing. So many ‘what if’ questions. So many concerns. So many thoughts.

Lance huffed. He could have just taken a nap in all the time he waited. Maybe he could just take a nap here. Perhaps by the time he woke up Keith would only be a few minutes from arriving? He was tired so it was worth a shot. He used his hoodie as a small blanket and layed down on his side. The floor was incredibly uncomfortable but he wanted to be the first to talk to Keith when he came back. He closed his eyes and let his consciousness fade.

  
  


“Are we really going to wait until Lance feels up to telling everyone? I mean, this is extremely important information!” Lotor paced around the infirmary as Coran finished uploading the data to the castle medical records.

“I’m afraid so. I want him to tell the others too but if we push him or even tell the others without his permission who knows if he’ll ever want to trust us again. On this team we have to trust each other no matter what.” He hit a few buttons and closed the monitor.

Lotor furrowed his brows. “I understand.” He began walking out. “I’ll be with the princess until we decide our next course of action.”

Coran nodded. “Alright, I’ll join you in a few ticks. I have some things in here I must take care of.”

He gave him a nod and left to the bridge where he assumed Allura went after lunch. Lotor walked with his pace slow and calm but thoughts racing.

 _‘Another Altean…’_ He thought.

Once he reached the bridge he stood by Allura who was looking at something pulled up at the front. “Are you reviewing something, princess?” He asked, standing beside the elevated platform.

“I want to be prepared for tomorrow.” She continued to scroll through her data and documents. “Just because Voltron and the Galra Empire have an alliance now doesn’t mean there isn’t anyone out there who’ll try to attack us.”

“I know I can’t convince you to rest so is there anything I can help with?”

She thought for a moment. “Hm… Actually resting sounds nice. Exploring Oriande was quite exhausting.”

“I didn’t know my convincing skills were _that_ good.” He chuckled. “I can stay here at the bridge if you’d like.”

“You don’t have to if you’re tired. Maybe we can even get you a room up here since you’ve proven yourself trustworthy.” She smiled a bit.

“If you’re sure, I’d like a room up here. The one I’ve been using was a very loud white.” He sent her a playful smile.

“Well that settles it. Let’s go find a room for you.” She closed the projections and took his arm.

 

“Let’s see… We have a place where the other paladins are so we’ll see which ones aren’t being used.” Allura led him down the hall until they reached Lance’s room and Keith’s old room, along with Pidge’s down the hall with Hunk’s. Shiro’s was a bit further down than theirs.

“There’s one here between Lance’s and Pidge’s rooms if you’d like that one? Otherwise, there’s one down near Shiro’s room.”

Lotor had noticed Shiro’s recent temper and decided to keep a distance if he could. “I’ll take the one between the two.” He looked at her. “Gives me a chance to get to know the other paladins.” He smiled a bit.

She smiled too. “Well it’s settled!” She paused and looked at him for a moment. “I’m really glad you’re here, Lotor.” Her voice was softer and quieter.

“Thank you, princess. I’m glad to be he-”

“This is Keith and I’m docking in the lion hangar. I’ll be down in a few.” Keith spoke over the comms, interrupting the two Alteans.

“Oh, we should meet him on the bridge.” Allura took Lotor’s arm again.

Lotor nodded and followed her lead. “Of course, princess.” He’d never talked to Keith before but he was looking forward to worked another team member.

  
  


“...ance.”

Lance stirred and scrunched his nose. “Go away…” He grumbled.

“Why are you sleeping on the floor?” They poked his cheek.

Lance groaned and slowly opened his eyes. “Ugh, why _am_ I sleeping on the floor…” He rubbed his eyes, still adjusting to the light. “Mh…” He yawned. He let his eyes slowly glance up at the figure hovering over him. He needed to stop sleeping in places like thi- wait-

“Keith??” Lance frown almost immediately turned into a grin. “Keith! You’re here!!” He wrapped his arms around him and pulled him close. “Keith!! Finally!” He paused and shoved him away a bit. “Where the heck _were_ you?! I waited forever for you!” He dropped his arms to his side and pouted. Keith was responsible for the major back ache he was having and he was going to explain himself.

Keith’s brows furrowed. “I-I’m sorry! I… I didn’t think you’d be waiting.” He was knelt down in front of Lance, hood still up. “I just got here…” He stood again.

Lance stood up too, stretching from the soreness in his back. “Well if you don’t mind I need to talk to you. Alone.” A sudden shift in tone was clear.

Keith shook off his hood. “O...kay. Where to?”

“My room.”

“Let’s go then.”

  


Lance shut the door, keeping the lights dim. “I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I know. That’s why I’m here.”

Lance huffed. “It’s _serious_ , Keith…”

“Then just tell me!”

“I… I think I’m part… Altean?” His question sounded so desperate.

“You think? Why? What happened?”

“Keith… I have those marks. Like the ones Allura has.” Lance locked eyes with Keith.

He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Well… where are they?” He whispered, not really knowing why.

Lance shrugged. “They appeared earlier when Allura touched me and when Lotor touched me. I guess they faded again.” He sighed. “Keith, you’re part Galra. How… How do I _deal_ with this…?”

Keith pressed his lips together. “I… I don’t know. That’s partly why I came here to talk to Shiro…”

Lance’s ears perked up. “What happened…?”

“Um… I found… my mother.”

“You found your _mom??_ In _space??_ ” Lance squeaked.

Keith hushed him. “Yes! Now will you be quiet??” Keith shook Lance by his shoulders.

“How is that even possible?? How is she here?? And where is she??” Lance whispered, still yelling but now whisper-yelling.

“Slow down! And… She’s a Galra.” He dropped his arms and looked down. “It’s not that I’m mad at her for being Galra but…”

“But…”

“But… She _left_ me, Lance. I didn’t even know my mom was still out there let alone an alien fighting an intergalactic war! I don’t know how to feel, Lance.” He crossed his arms. “I want to believe she left so she could help save millions of lives but… but part of me is pissed she traded me for them.” His voice lowered. “I feel so selfish and yet so… so forgotten.”

Lance could see his arms tense as he spoke. “Dude… I-I’m sorry… It sounds like a lot.” He sat down on his bed, Keith followed. “How do you know she’s your mom? If she left you how does she know you’re her son?”

Keith pulled his blade out from his belt. “She recognized this. She gave it to my dad before she left.”

Lance looked at it and then back at Keith. “I’m sure she was happy to see you, right?”

“Yeah. She… She told me she’d never leave me again.”

Lance could see tears forming in his eyes. “Good. You deserve a mom in your life besides Shiro.” He chuckled.

Keith chuckled a bit too and wiped his eyes. “Yeah. I do.” He paused and took a shaky breath in. “It’s weird… I’ve been fantasizing about the day I meet her. How she’d see me and run to me and hug me like she was never gonna let go. I never thought it’d be like this.”

“Like what…?”

“I didn’t think I’d be _this_ angry…” He whispered. “I know I shouldn’t be but… I just am.”

Lance put a hand on his shoulder. “No one said you couldn’t be upset. I’d be upset too but you have to remember she loved you and still loves you. Maybe the war was worsening and she had to go? Obviously she wasn’t just lounging around in space.” Lance smiled at him a bit. “She loves you. Don’t forget that.”

Keith let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “I feel so bad. I yelled at her before leaving the Blade of Marmora base and calling here. I didn’t even give her a chance to tell her side of the story.” He sniffled. “I-I’m sorry… I didn’t mean to get all emotional. I told myself I wouldn’t.” Tears streamed down his face as his arms remained crossed over himself and head low.

“It’s okay. It’s okay.” Lance pulled him into a tight hug not caring about the lack of reciprocation from Keith at first. “You can spend some time here and think things through before going back and if you want we can come with you.”

Keith slowly untensed his arms and wrapped his arms around Lance. “Yeah. I’d like that.” He sniffled. “Thanks for, you know, listening to me.” He pulled away and wiped his cheeks.

“Anything for a fellow alien.” Lance chuckled.

“You just had to ruin the moment, didn’t you?” Keith couldn’t help but smile.

“Just cheering you up.” He smiled.

“Well… It worked. So thank you, Lance. I mean it.”

“Happy to help.”

They sat in a comfortable silence until a loud announcement from Lance’s helmet stole their attention. “Keith, are you still in the hanger?” Allura’s voice was loud and clear.

Keith furrowed his brows. Lance opened the comms on his helmet that was on his bed. “Allura we’re both in my room.”

“Pidge? Hunk?”

Their voices came online. “We’re in the kitchen.”

“Well Shiro, Lotor, and Coran are with me…”

Silence.

“Who’s in the hangar…”

Another long silence took over the team.

“I think someone followed me...” Keith’s voice was low but loud enough to be broadcasted over the comms. “I wasn’t focusing and I thought I saw something but I didn’t look into it.” Panic rose in his voice.

“Allura, Keith and I are headed down ther-”

A loud explosion could be heard from the hangar. The team froze before getting back on the comms. “We need to get down there now!!” Lance yelled, putting his helmet back on.

“Already on our way!!” Allura’s and a few other’s footsteps could be heard running.

The ship shook as if something crashed into it as well as the lights flickering.

“Allura you need to stay and put up the particle barrier! Let us handle this!” Lance could hear Shiro’s voice commanding her in the background.

“We’re already almost there and we might need all the help we can get!” She yelled back.

Another explosion shook the ground and managed to throw Lance and Keith off their feet. “Ugh, we’ll be there soon!” Lance got up.

The two continued to run and run until they got to the hangar. The door was blown off as well as helmets discarded at the door, probably not by choice. “Allura!! Shiro!! Lotor!!” Lance called, powering up his bayard.

Keith activated his blade and followed Lance’s lead. The room was filled with yelling, laser guns, and more yelling.

The three girls from before threw punches and kicks at the other three. The taller of the three shoved Allura into the wall as her bayard fell out of her hand. She groaned as every bone in her body throbbed. “Shiro!! Lotor!!”

Shiro was busy fighting off the pinkish girl. She was quick and light on her feet making her a difficult target. He swung and missed and swung and missed all while she hit him every time she brought her leg up in a swift motion or thrusted her fists towards him. She maneuvered around him and grabbed his arm before slamming a device on it. He instantly fell unconscious, falling to the floor.

“Shiro!” Keith ran to him only to be thrown off balance by the same girl that knocked out Shiro. Lance was already running after him and took out his sword.

“Keith! I got you, buddy!” He took a jab at her but she swiftly avoided it. Another swing and she avoided that one too. She kicked Lance back a few feet as well as Keith.

_How strong was she??_

Lotor had his own fair share of fighting with the violet one, each getting a few punches and kicks in at the other but no one was ahead. “You’re working for the witch now, aren’t you?? Haven’t you learned your lesson??” Lotor’s nostrils flared as he flipped her on her side with a thud. “That witch only cares about herself!!”

“Just like how you killed one of your own for the sake of your mission??” She quickly got up and threw her knee in his face while using her hand to rip his sword out of his grip. “You never cared about us!” She kicked him back into the wall and took a small metallic ball out of her pocket. “Have a nice life.” She said, grimly. She motioned to the others.

The pink one dropped a metallic ball as well before picking Shiro up and running back to their ship. The tall one followed behind with Allura, something in her arm as well. The two paladins were carried, both unconscious.

“Allur-” The metallic balls began quickly releasing some sort of gas in all directions before anyone could advance towards the intruders. Lance began coughing as the room spun around.

Lance fell to the floor. “Keith??” His vision got blurry but he could see the ship leave the hangar. “K-Keith…?” He felt his head hit the floor before everything went black.

  
  


Lance stirred and groaned. His eyes fluttered open to the sound of what he thought was a vacuum cleaner of some kind. His limbs were a bit sore as he slowly sat up. He looked around at the others. They still lay unconscious on the cold cement-like ground. His mind was still a bit foggy.

“Lance! Thank goodness you’re awake! I’m still at the bridge! I’ve sealed the doors here until I can get whatever that gas is out of there. Are you alright?” Coran’s voice boomed over the announcements.

He groaned at the loud noise. “Kinda… I’m still a little light headed.” He looked around more. The door from the hangar to the rest of the castle was blown off as well as a few other things that were destroyed in the large room.

He heard Keith groan a few feet away. “L...Lance…?” He lay with his hair a mess and hood halfway on.

“Yeah, I’m here, buddy.” Lance laid back again next to Keith. He was exhausted. “Coran’s getting the gas outta here…”

Keith nodded. “Okay.” Keith seemed to be out of it too, even more than Lance.

“They… They took Allura and Shiro…” He breathed.

Suddenly a pang of anxiety rushed through Keith. “You’re right! Oh-” He cursed under his breath. “We need to go find the-” Keith began to sit up.

Lance reached up and pulled Keith back down. “Just wait, Keith. You can’t go alone. Not everyone’s awake.” His arm dropped back to the ground.

Keith huffed and laid back down. “Okay, okay.” He turned his head to face Lance. “This is the third time Shiro’s been taken from us.”

“And the second for Allura…” Lance sighed and looked at him. “We’ll get them back. Don’t worry.” His voice was still raspy but hopeful.

 

After several minutes the gas from the hangar and the rest of the ship was sucked out. “Alright, paladins. I’m opening the doors and I want you all in the infirmary. Before we go look for Allura and Shiro we must make sure we won’t have any unforeseen side effects.” Lance could hear the pain in his voice. He knew Coran just wanted to get Allura back but he couldn’t rush into it.

Lotor had already left to the infirmary as the gas cleared from out of the ship. He took his sword with him but he seemed more upset than normal. Pidge and Hunk never quite made it all the way down to the hangar so Lance assumed they passed out somewhere on their way. “Keith and I are on our way down.” He spoke into the comms. He paused and looked around. He saw Shiro and Allura’s helmets just lying there. He stood and walked up to Allura’s and Keith went to Shiro’s. “Let’s take these back.”

Keith nodded and picked it up. “Let’s go with the others.”

Lance followed his lead.

 

The remaining members each had their turn with Coran making sure they were each alright. No one showed signs of any internal damage. Just a small headache from fainting.

They returned back up to the bridge to discuss their next steps. Lotor stood by Coran and looked through the system. “How can we possibly fly this ship if Allura’s gone?”

“Maybe we should have you try.” Hunk looked at him. “I still trust you like 95 percent so… Don’t betray us or anything.”

Pidge nodded. “You have the mark of the chosen so you might be able to fly us to find them.”

Lotor looked down, hand on his chin. “I suppose I could try. But I didn’t pass the test in Oriande.”

“Still worth a shot.” Hunk watched with the others as Lotor stepped up onto the platform.

He took slow and steady steps up as the castle registered there was someone standing there, bringing the stands up to his hands. He placed each hand on the glowing part of the stand.

 

Nothing.

 

Nothing happened.

 

“Are you sure you’re trying?” Hunk squinted his eyes are him.

“Yes, I’m sure.” He said, almost annoyed. He removed his hands and stepped down. “I can’t fly us anywhere.” He then looked at Lance. “But… we may have one more option.”

Lance’s eyes widened a bit. Before he could say anything the ship shook with a loud explosion, much louder than before. “What was that??”

Coran quickly pulled up a monitor. “It’s the ship again! They blew off an engine!” Red emergency lights and the loud siren blared. “I can’t fly us out of here!”

The Pidge and Hunk were already headed to their lions but Lance didn’t leave with them. Lance knew he was their last option get get up a particle barrier or literally anything to keep from dying. He ran up to the stands and placed his palms on the glowing orb-like part.

“Particle barrier up!” He could feel the energy leave through his veins and out of his hands as the particle barrier took its position surrounding the ship. He left an opening for the lions to get out.

“Woah! How’d you get it up, Coran??” They could hear Hunk’s voice over the comms.

“I didn’t.” Coran looked almost _happy_? “Lance did.”

“Lance?? Well whatever you’re doing keep it up! We need to protect the castle!” Pidge yelled.

Lance’s strength was straining. This was so much harder than it looked. He felt that his whole life force was connected to the castle so with each hit it hit him too. “Keith go to the black lion! Lotor go get in the blue lion!” Lance commanded. Keith did as he said and ran as fast as he could.

Lotor’s eyes widened a little. “A lion??”

“Yes, now go! Pidge and Hunk need help and you’re going to help them.”

Lotor hesitated a bit before running down to the still mostly destroyed hangar.

 

“Open up!”

 

Nothing.

 

“I said open up!” Lotor demanded.

“You can’t yell at her! She won’t respond to you like that.” Lance talked to him over the comms.

“Then how??”

“You have to be _vulnerable_. She wants to take care of you but she can’t if you won’t open up to her.”

Lotor took a deep breath. “Okay. Blue lion,” He walked up to her and put a hand on her. “I-I’m sorry. Please… I need to go help.” His brows furrowed.

Lance listened with each passing second. “She needs more Lotor… And do it fast.” Lance wasn’t sure how long he’d last with each blow feeling stronger than the last.

Lotor listened. “I need to help them, blue lion. They’ve trusted me despite every logical reason not to. I’ve got to return the favor and help.” His voice was more sincere than Lance had ever heard it before.

Lotor felt a rumbling and looked up to see the blue lion’s eyes lit up. She roared loud and clear before lowering her head.

He smiled a bit before running inside and buckling up.

“Okay we’re gonna need some help soon!! They brought a whole fleet! How is that even possible?? I thought we had an alliance with like 90 percent of the empire!” Pidge tried her best to stall and take out some ships while Hunk tried taking out the larger one but it was all too much to handle.

“I’m on my way!” Lotor zoomed into battle, lasers shooting at any enemy ship he saw.

“Just keep them away from the castle! Coran and I are trying to find a way to wormhole outta here!” Lance felt himself grip tightly onto the stands. It was taking so much out of him to keep the particle barrier up while taking a massive amount of fire.

Hunk maneuvered around the large ship that seemed to be in control of the fleet. “I’m trying to take this main ship out but the little one’s keep attacking me and I can only take so much!”

“I’ll try to hold them off!” Lotor flew to where Hunk was. He began blasting them all with a mixture of his laser and the ice canon. “There’s too many!”

“Lance how’s the wormhole thing coming along??” Pidge sounded desperate.

Lance groaned. “ _We’re working on it!_ ” He knew his tone was harsh but he’d apologize later. Right now he need to _focus_.

“Lance, you’ve got this. _Just breathe_ .” He heard Keith’s voice over the comms. He knew Pidge and Hunk might’ve been confused on the words he chose but it didn’t matter. Those words were for _him_.

Lance closed his eyes and breathed. “Okay… I’ve got this.” He whispered to himself. He felt himself squeeze the stand tighter. “Let’s get outta here.” A bright blue portal opened in front of the castle.

“Lance! You did it! Everyone fly back to the castle now!” Keith yelled.

The castle took several hits before disappearing into the wormhole with the lions barely getting inside. It felt as though the portal spit them out in a random part of space as the ship spun out of control, one of the main engines still gone. The red lights and siren continued to fill their eyes and ears as Lance tried to get the ship under control.

“Hold on! I’m trying to steady the ship!” It continued to spin violently as Coran and Lance tried to hang on while the ship lost momentum. He felt like fainting but with all of his remaining strength he stopped the ship from moving with the engines they still had. Slowly the ship stopped spinning and just floated slowly through space.

The others landed the lions in the hangar and ran inside. “Is everyone here and alright?” Coran spoke over the comms.

They could hear their heaving. “Yeah we’re all here. How’s Lance?” Hunk breathed hard. It was a miracle they made it out without forming Voltron.

“I-I’m fine.” He was not fine.

Once they made it back to the bridge Lance lifted his hands from the stands and faced them.

 

Lance’s marks were glowing.

 

“Lance??Wha-...” Pidge slowly walked up to him.

Lance furrowed his brows. He didn’t look so good. “I-I… I was going to tell you guys… I’m sorry.” His legs gave out and his vision went black.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I'll be posting a new chapter every month along with art! I'm open to constructive criticism (pls use the compliment sandwich method bc my fragile heart can't take criticism without fluff XD)
> 
> My Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/djsadbean/
> 
> My Tumblr: https://djsadbean.tumblr.com/
> 
> If you wanna draw/cosplay/anything lol something from this fic tag it as #MaskedAlteanLance so I can see! Feel free to shoot me a message on Instagram or Tumblr to show me too bc I'd die of happiness XD


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